The ex-founder of BharatPe criticized the mindset of those in charge of the tax department, asserting that their primary objective seems to be to “trouble businesspeople.”
Ashneer Grover, the founder of the fantasy gaming app Crickpe, took to Twitter to strongly criticize tax authorities for issuing substantial tax demands to gaming companies. Notably, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has sent pre-show cause notices to 12 online gaming companies, totaling ₹55,000 crore. Among them, gaming giant Dream11 received the largest notice, amounting to ₹25,000 crore.
The former founder of BharatPe questioned the reasoning behind the decisions made by those in charge of the tax department, suggesting that their primary aim appears to be to “harass businessmen.” He derided the entire process, asserting that neither individuals nor the government would ultimately benefit from these hefty tax demands. Grover stated that this maneuver would essentially serve as a “game of monopoly,” primarily benefiting lawyers who would challenge the policy in the Supreme Court.
Mr. Grover went on to label this as a form of ‘retrospective tax.’ He pointed out that while the Congress imposed the Vodafone Retrospective Tax, the BJP has introduced the Gaming GST Retrospective Tax. He humorously remarked that this move is not aligned with the government’s ambition of achieving a 5 trillion dollar economy, and urged the Finance Ministry to address the issue promptly.